


Ours

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: A World Of Our Making [6]
Category: We Can Be Heroes (2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Discrimination, Established Relationship, I don't know how to tag this, I warned you it was coming, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Protective Miracle Guy, my muse wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 20:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: "You can't be serious."
Relationships: Miracle Guy/Marcus Moreno
Series: A World Of Our Making [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126760
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Ours

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Arranged Marriage
> 
> This was going to be cute and then my muse demanded a convoluted crossover in which the Heroics functions like Vought from the Boys and their abilities mean they face a shaky political atmosphere like X-Men. Yeah...I don't know either.

“You can’t be serious!”

Marcus stared, dumbfounded as Ms. Granada’s expression twisted with irritation at Miracle’s outburst, “I, for one, think it’s an excellent idea. If you would just look at the survey results-”

“Un-fucking-believable!” He flinched when Miracle suddenly rounded on him, body towering over where he sat, eyes stormy with an anger he hadn’t seen in him since they were children, still learning to control themselves. “Are you hearing this?!”

Swallowing thickly, he glanced at the director, noted the dangerous glint in the depths of her eyes and desperately tried to find a way to diffuse the rapidly deteriorating situation, “Ms. Granada, you have to admit that this does sound a bit…extreme?” 

“A bit?” Miracle hissed.

“On the contrary, I see no problem.”

Grimacing, Marcus tried again, shifting to the edge of his seat as he tried to explain, ignoring the icy blue gaze standing next to him, “I just mean, this isn’t going to help in the long run, we both know how fickle funding can be-”

She shook her head and shoved a piece of paper at him, long nails jabbing dangerously at the charts and scribbled words, “the political landscape is very divisive right now and with all the damage we’ve caused recently and the money we’ve spent…public opinion is turning against us. You’ve been in this business long enough to know that if the people don’t support us, it’s only a matter of time before the Heroics Initiative is defunded and the lot of you are out of a job or worse…detained because they’re worried, they can’t control you.” For the first time since they’d been called into her office, her expression softened. “You know my number one priority has always been keeping us safe, all of us and we both know that requires sacrifice.” She glanced meaningfully at Miracle.

Ms. Granada, as was her habit, took aim and fired to kill. Marcus abruptly felt as though he’d been kicked in the gut, a pain that resonated from his stomach, through his ribcage and into his chest, stealing the air from his lungs. Grief constricted his throat for a long moment, the hole in his heart that was ever present since he lost his wife, gaping, even though the barb had been aimed at the other man, she always knew what she was doing.

“What did you just say?” Miracle’s voice was cold, dangerous in a way that promised unspeakable violence and he was impressed to find her unwavering in the face of it.

“I said…we all have to make sacrifices for the people we love and what I’m asking of you is less than if I asked it of any of the others.”

Miracle’s hands had begun to tremble, and Marcus moved swiftly, reaching out until he could grip his wrist, swallowing back the tumultuous emotion swelling inside him. Squeezing as tightly as he could, he waited until Miracle looked at him, until their eyes could meet and in that silent way of theirs, urge him to calm down.

“Ms. Granada,” he strained to keep his voice steady, professional. “Please give us a minute to talk about this.”

In his peripheral, Marcus could see her hesitation and Miracle must have too because a low growl resonated through his chest, and she was finally standing and making her way out. Still, she paused next to his chair, her hand settling on his shoulder though he knew she must be looking at Miracle.

“Think of your children,” Miracle’s expression tightened, lips curling, and Marcus dug his nails into the man’s skin. “Missy should not have to grow up without her father too and Wheels should not be locked up because of their fear.”

She walked away, heels clicking against the floor and Marcus couldn’t help the stinging of his eyes, a heaviness settling over him the moment the door closed behind her. He released Miracle’s wrist and looked away from his too intense gaze, inhaled deeply and tried to just _think._

“Marcus?” His tone was still tense but now there was a layer of earnest concern, shaking fingers running through his hair in a desperate attempt to sooth. “Are you alright?”

He offered a humorless laugh, shot him a look, “are you?”

Miracle shook his head, the movement a bit too fast, betraying the anger that must still be simmering beneath the surface, “they’re fucking insane, if they really think we’re doing this-”

“I know-”

“She really thinks she can guilt us-”

“I think-”

“Whoever came up-”

“Miracle-”

“I’m going to fucking-”

“Miracle!”

“Arranged marriage-”

“MIRACLE,” Marcus finally snapped, causing the man to freeze, eyes wide and startled. Marcus found his hands white knuckling the arms of the chair he was in, voice just a little too despairing despite his own frustration. “Stop, just stop. I know.”

All at once he seemed to deflate, perhaps realizing it wasn’t Marcus he was angry with or the reality that this was happening to both of them, not just him. Either way, Miracle’s expression speared his heart and Marcus was abruptly very, very tired.

“They’re crazy,” he muttered, though his confidence of that seemed to have waned.

“She’s not, they’re not.”

Miracle’s voice almost seemed to be pleading with him, an edge to it that he hadn’t heard before and Marcus couldn’t help but reach out to grip his hand again, “they can’t force us to marry each other, they can’t do that.”

“No,” he agreed softly. “They can’t force us.”

 _They don’t have to_ , was left unspoken.

The thing was, Ms. Granada could be ruthless, was single-minded in her mission to protect the Heroics Initiative and all the progress they’d made these years. It wasn’t so long ago that they’d been feared, that they’re power had made them more of a threat then an advantage and no small part of that was thanks to the very woman who’d just walked out that door.

Marcus had worked side by side with her, knew the difficulties she was facing and knew that this coming year was going to be critical. Ms. Granada was playing every card she had because in two months’ time a slew of bills would be crossing the floor in the senate, offering protections to those born with extraordinary abilities, and it could very well change the futures of the children just two floors down from them.

They needed the public on their side and every tactic was to be used.

He watched the realization dawn in Miracle’s eyes and tried to ignore the pang of rejection at the way his shoulders slumped miserably, expression twisting. Marcus watched as he shook his head, voice defeated as he whispered, “how did they know?”

Marcus shrugged, “she knows everything, we were never going to be able to keep it a secret from her forever.”

It was true, they’d been dating for a little over a year and Marcus had suspected they’d been caught out no less than a week from when it started, was more than a little surprised when she hadn’t said anything…though now he knew she’d been waiting for an opportunity.

Miracle’s eyes fluttered closed, “and if we say no?”

A sharper pain at those words and maybe it was a bit petty to be hurt by Miracle’s adamant refusal to marry him, especially when he himself wasn’t sure that was something, they were ready for, but it certainly didn’t feel good to see how much he hated the very suggestion of it.

Steadying his voice, Marcus shrugged, “they’ll ask someone else until somebody says yes or everybody says no. You heard her; she came to us first because we’re already together…it won’t be the same for some of them.”

“I hate this,” Miracle whispered, and that made Marcus let go of his hand, couldn’t bear to cling to him when he was in so much pain, when his own mind was still trying to sort out this mess.

Marcus already knew what he was going to say, for him, this was simple. The idea that the Heroics Initiative depended so heavily on public opinion and that they had to pull ridiculous stunts like this, was maddening… except all politics were and ultimately this wasn’t a suprise. He at least knew, he was in a fairly safe place with this, the man he was being asked to marry was somebody whom he loved and while they hadn’t talked about it, the rest of his life with him in it, didn’t seems so bad. More importantly, he thought about Missy and how she’d finally found a place she felt like she belonged and that he’d die before letting anyone rip that away from her.

Except, it wasn’t just his decision.

“You decide,” it came out softly, too softly and when he glanced at Miracle it was to find him staring down at where he sat, eyes clouded with disbelief. The hand that Marcus had let go of, clenched and unclenched, fingers stretching like they were searching for something that was missing, so he tried again, made sure his voice was firm, unwavering. “I said, you decide. I won’t be mad, whatever it is. You decide.”

They stared at each other for a long moment as Marcus struggled not to look away, found the other man’s gaze intense in the way that it held his. He tried to judge his reaction, saw only the slightest trembling at the corners of his lips, the nearly imperceptible wetness clouding his eyes, and the stiffness of his posture.

He felt like he was waiting on a life sentence.

Suddenly, quick enough to startle him, Miracle dropped to his knees, the wood moaning from the impact as he reached for the hands resting in his lap. Marcus didn’t pull away, forced himself to be still as they were gathered in his familiar palms, smooth where his were calloused.

“It’s not fair,” Miracle whispered, his voice despairing and Marcus felt his heart drop. “It’s not fucking fair.”

“It’s okay,” he began, only to be cut off.

“No, they weren’t supposed to know,” fervent gaze locked on his. “This was supposed to be just _ours._ Not theirs, not the Heroics, something just for us.”

Oh.

Marcus twisted his hands in his, weaving their fingers together before bringing it up to his lips and kissing them, once, twice, and again. Their lives were on display, something Miracle had always struggled with and now they were being asked to share more, to give more, always, always more. He didn’t blame him in the slightest.

“It will be,” he murmured. “It will be ours. Just because they’ll know, won’t make it any less about you and me.”

Miracle closed his eyes and Marcus watched, saw the moment he steeled himself for it before suddenly surging up and kissing him. It was clumsy, hard, like a man being seen off to battle and this might be the last time they saw each other, a man searching for something or someone to keep him afloat.

When he pulled away, it wasn’t to go far, as Miracle tipped his forehead against Marcus’ breath fanning across his face. Their hands were still tangled together when Miracle chuckled weakly, “I don’t have a ring to give you.”

Despite himself, Marcus felt his heart flutter, “I think I can forgive you.” He paused, needed to be sure before this went any further, “okay?”

Miracle lifted his head, a slow, tired smile on his lips, “on one condition.”

He raised an eyebrow, “what’s that?”

“I have to ask Missy for permission.”

The joy that burst through his chest was reflected in Miracle’s eyes and even though this was a mess forced upon them, even though there were a thousand things they’d still have to talk through and figure out, Marcus truly believed in that moment…that they would be okay.


End file.
